A Little Ridiculous

Ridiculous, I know.  It's in the 30s outside.  Been in the low 40s and now slipping into the 30s before it drops down to the 20s late tonight.  During this past summer we had almost 3 months of temperatures 100 degrees F or higher.  It was a beast of a summer.  Normal (and you know that there is no such monster, right?) for my memory of normal summer weather--a few years back anyway--was summers that broke into the 90s for highs, but not much above 95, and only a few days here and there.  The nights might not get below 75 and we would have rain.  And thunder.  And lightening.  And more rain. It would be steamy and hot. But not this past summer.  For a little bit, I thought I was in Tucson, AZ it was so hot and devoid of ANY rain during the summer this year.

Well, all that has changed.  Although we had like a day of 80 degrees for a high and a low of 70 just a week, maybe week and a half ago, our high yesterday was 48.  This morning, when I got up about 6 am, it was 42.  At 7 or 8 am it was 38.  And drizzling.  We had 4 inches of rain over Saturday and Sunday.  That's the most rain we've seen in a 36 hour period for a long time!  And we accumulated 6 inches of rain from the middle to end of November, so 10 inches of rain in about 3 weeks!  We're delighted!  We've prayed for rain.  People have boat ramps over dry grassy areas since the summer.  Well, until it rained recently.  Now the earth is wet, but no standing water.  No lake water up close enough to touch the pilings of their boat ramps.

So, I--and many others--are very grateful for the rain.  And I shouldn't be grousing, certainly, but I'm cold.

No.  It makes no sense to be cold in a house that has a thermostat that reads 73 degrees.  Especially doesn't make sense when one is wearing several layers of clothing, one of which is a warm scarf wrapped around her neck along with a hoody.  (No.  I don't at this time have said hoody's hood upon my head, but I'm considering it.)  There's a fire blazing in the fireplace, too, but unless I'm sitting or standing next to it, I'm miserably cold.

I have no right to complain, however.  I know some people are struggling to stay warm with only space heaters--or less.  It's supposed to get down to 28 degrees tonight.  I pray they will huddle under lots of blankets and quilts like I plan to do in a few minutes.  I don't understand my being so cold when the thermostat reads 73.  I wonder about what the temperature would be at which I would turn into a block of ice?  What would I do if I were ever in Alaska or Siberia in the winter?  I think I'm beginning to feel a little warmer considering the alternatives.  But it still seems ridiculous to feel so cold in my current circumstances.  Perhaps it's because I don't eat whale blubber.

My Feet Are Cold

This is Sunday evening. It snowed today. Apparently we've finally reached the high temperature of the day--at nearly 9:30 pm--38 degrees. I don't know if the gale force winds are still blowing or not. Probably not. (And "gale force" might be a slight exaggeration.)

Friday--just two days ago--it was a glorious Spring/Summer day. The sky was beautiful and clear. The temperature was about 78 degrees (F). It was super! The grandkids enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. Grandpa enjoyed it. Mom enjoyed it. It was simply GREAT!

Yesterday the high was about 65 degrees. The clouds began moving in with gusting, cooler wind. Our forecast (yesterday) for today indicated a possibility of snow. Then the forecast changed sometime yesterday evening. The forecast high for today was 47 degrees. Rain and possible thunderstorms were also included--with a low of 31 or 33, something.

When I walked out to the car to go to Church this morning, there were tiny little specks of snow falling randomly about. One really had to look to see them. The wind blew in Arctic blasts, knifing through me and making my teeth chatter--figuratively, of course. Remember now, snow had been removed from the forecast. And our high was supposed to be 47. Right.

At home after Church, I was encouraged to "fire up" the fireplace, which I did. Our 2 yo grandson was all about trying to help. (Why are there so many pyromaniacs in my family?) It felt nice once it (the fire) got up and going, thank Heaven. My husband tended it off and on to keep our frozen little bodies warmer.

I think the temp managed to get as far as 36 with a windchill of like 28. Around 2 pm the snow decided to actually try to imitate the real thing and make larger flake-like particles that swirled around more thickly. It went on and on. It quit around supper time. I'm still cold, especially my feet. I think I'll make a cup of hot cocoa and try to warm up.

Tomorrow the prediction is for a high of 66 degrees. I'm not holding my breath or anything, but it would be a nice change! How do you plan to start a garden in this schizo kinda weather?